My Inferno
by MrShaunL
Summary: My name is Dante, and me and my family just moved to japan. A mysterious swordsman is my only clue to the murder of my father and I will hunt him down If its the last thing that I do 'Do not be afraid; our fate Cannot be taken from us; it is a gift' - Dante's Inferno
1. Prologue

Before all this happened, it seemed that I would ruin everything I touched.. I wish I could say it was different now. I made a promise to my dad, right before he died, that I would never use the blade to hurt anyone.. Technically, I suppose i kept that promise. Even though I'm using his old sword to kill the one who killed him.. I want to take out the sword and break my promise, but this stupid metal ring on the hilt prevents me from doing so.. I want to hit this bald swordsman. I want to hit him so hard it shatters his bones.

I want to _break_ him.

But I get ahead of myself, Ill start from the beginning..

My name is Dante, and I was born and raised in America. My father is a salesman and often heads over to japan to work with clients.. Im not exactly sure what he does.. He always dances around the question. He brings gifts back often for me and my mom for as long as I can remember. Because of that, I like to think im caught up on the Japanese culture. There's not a whole lot about me that stands out. Average size, average intelligence, even my hair is average. Dirty blonde, kinda short and swept over to one side. I'm a little bit awkward.. especially with the ladies. I've struck out with every girl ive set my mind too. But that's alright, im persistent. I get in trouble quite a lot. I'm cocky and enjoy fighting a little bit more than I should. I used to get picked on before my growth spurt, and always fraught back.. I get the crap kicked out of me a lot. Now that im about the same size as the bullies, i try my best to stand up for others.. Buuut that doesn't always end too well..

I tried my best to open the front door quietly.. Im home way later than my curfew.. Its fine. Dad is gone and moms probably sleeping. These crickets should hide the sound of the squeaky door anyway. Opening the door just wide enough to slip my head though the crack, I made a quick survey of my environment. Nothing.. Perfect. Im safe. With a grin, I tip-toe into the kitchen to grab some leftovers mom most likely left for me. It was the first day of baseball practice and.. Well the captain was talking crap about our infielder and. I may or may not have went after him with a bat. _Maybe._  
It was a dumb idea in hindsight.. There were about seven of them and one of me. But thats alright, they're in worse shape than I was. Both my eyes were blackened from being punched in the face repeatedly and I had a small cut above my eyebrow. My nose stopped bleeding on my way home, but I could feel the dried blood tail that ran down my face and onto my shirt.

The light from the refrigerator illuminated the rest of the apartment. It was very small, and because of that people would tease me for being poor. But that wasnt the case, we had a lot of money, we just didnt need a large place because my father would have to move every so often and he was gone a lot, so it was like I just lived with my mom. A small plate of mashed potatoes, corn, and steak caught my attention. It had a small sticky note on it.

"Turn Around" it said.. "huh, that's weird." i said as i stood up and closed to door. I turned to get a fork from the drawer only to be met with a small 5 foot 5 woman. "SWEET JESUS" I exclaimed. "How do you keep DOING that?" I said clenching my chest. It was my mother. She had this strange habit of sneaking around without making a sound. I hated it. "What are you doing. Its 2 in the morning." She said sternly, arms crossed. "and what happened to your face?" "Wow mom. Leave my looks out of this. Most people say i take after you anyway so you just kinda insulted yourself. Well, night!" I said turning away. She grabbed my arm before i took a step and spun me around. She was a strong little lady. "She pulled my face down to her level and studied the bruises and blood that had now been dried. Tears filled her eyes. "Mom seriously.. Its not a big deal.. Ill just take a shower and it'll be fine." she threw her arms around me and spoke with a catch in her voice. "Why do you keep doing this?.. What if something happens and you get killed? A mother should never have to bury her son.." "Im sorry mom.." I said warping one arm around her head and the other holding my plate. "I'll try to be more careful.." We stood for a moment in the dark. "K now let go. Its dinner time." A swift slap to the side of my head broke the silence.

"Hey buttface!" A voice breaks over the crowd as I walk into school. My mother used to be a nurse, so she fixed up my face as well as she could.. But not well enough I suppose. "Hey why dont you lay off.." I reply still looking at the floor. "I had a long night.." Because of my families moving needs, I don't usually stay in one spot for too long, and rarely make any good friends. I didn't even remember his name that morning. We exchanged some brief hurtful words jokingly, and continued with our day. I was zoning out it what I think was Spanish class when a familiar face poped up in front of the classroom door, snapping me out of my trance. I raised my hand immediately. "Yes Dante?" the teacher asked. "I need to be excused. Right now." I quickly said. "Well im sorry, but this is important information, you'll have to wait." he said as he turned his back to me. "I have diarrhea" I blurted out quickly. Everyone turned to look at me with a disgusted face. In my experience, you never have to explain that excuse, and nobody ever asks any questions. A sigh and wrist flick from the teach signaled me out. I grabbed my backpack and ran out the door, pencils and papers flying everywhere. And there, at the end of the hall looking in every classroom, was a man in a suit. "Hey creep!" I shouted at him. He quickly spun around to face me. "What are you looking for?" I asked. "I'm looking for a kid.. About your age. What is your name anyway you little snot-nosed prick." he barked at me. We began walking towards each other. "Dante!" I shouted back, gaining speed and dropping my backpack. "Got a problem buddy?" "I just might!" Said the man, as we now started running toward one another. "WHY DONT WE TAKE THIS OUTSIDE THEN!" We shouted at the same time. Mere feet from one another, I lept toward him, arm extended. He caught me, and held me tight so I couldn't move.. Looking down at me, I looked up to make eye contact. Being crushed, I let out a small peep.. "Hey dad"

My mother didnt tell me he was going to be home that morning. He said he wanted to surprise me and take me to play hooky and get icecream. Taking me in his expensive car, eating our sundaes, and laughing, I took a glance in the back seat of his car. A long gun metal grey thing caught my attention. "Hey dad, whats that?" I asked pointing in the back seat. He took a look and and turned back to face the road, turning slightly pink. "Its uh.." he said struggling to find the words. "Its just something i brought back for the house, its a decoration really." "Oh yeah?" i asked reaching back to grab it. "What Is it?" I picked it up from underneath his clothes in the back seat. "Its a sword you boob. Dont take it out though, its pretty sharp." As the last button up shirt fell from its sheath, i could finally get a good look at it. It sure was a sword. A katana to be exact. Its case was a matte dark grey, with black wrappings for the handle. As i looked up toward the hilt, I noticed something strange. A small metal ring was run between the guard and the sheath preventing me from taking it out. "I was going to, but it seems to be locked." I said in a cocky fashion. "How would you even know if it was sharp? Its not a lock thing on it." "Oh yeah!" He said with a chuckle. "Im not sure what I was worried about. Like i said, it was for decoration. Not for playing 'Fruit Ninja' in the yard. "Come on, please." I said replied.

Apparently my mom didnt know dad was coming home either. As we walk in the door, laughing away, my mother let out an excited squeal and hopped off the couch from watching her afternoon shows. They hugged for a while and she insisted he sit down and tell her all about his trip, as well as get upset at him for not bringing her icecream. Later that evening, I was sitting in my room and working on some homework when something caught my attention. From the open window, I head something stranger. It sounded like a short, sudden burst of wind, like something moving very fast. I stood up from my chair and walked to the open window and stuck my head out. I scanned the area, but didnt see anything.. And I heard it again. And again. Multiple times, very fast. I still couldnt see anything, but the sounds were getting louder and louder. And as suddenly as it began, it stopped. That was weird.. i thought as i went to close my window.. and then I smelled something. It was hard to explain.. but it smelled like.. Blood?

"Dante!" My mother called, "Come out here! we need to talk about something!" The smell had passed, and i was left with my head out the window looking like a crazy person. Shaking my head, i close the window and walk into the living room. "Sup" I say as if to announce my arrival. "Sit down a second," dad said as he stand in the middle of the living room, holding his hands and twiddling his fingers. He looked nervous. I sat down, very confused and slightly nervous. A moment of silence passed until i spoke up. "Sooooo.." "Okay here we go:" He said, beginning to pace. "So first things first, I know we haven't lived here very long, and I hate to have to ask this.." he said, stumbling over his words and pacing around the floor. I became increasingly uncomfortable. "So uh.. I just got a promotion at work and uh.. Well your mother and I think it would be best for us if.. Well if this time we all.. For the last time." "Move to Japan." my mother interrupted. "Seriously? My dad said, turning his attention to my mother. "You said i could do it! I was almost there!" "You werent following the script." she replied, "You gotta do it fast, like a band aid!" They argued to eachother as I zoned out, deep in thought. One last time.. I thought.. Then we could be like a normal family, and he would come home every night.. "Okay" I said, breaking up their argument. They turned to me. "What?" he said. "Okay. Lets do it." A smile crept over his face. "See? I told you I had this in the bag!" My father said with a giggle. "Youre an idiot." Said my mom as she walked toward me. "Im proud of you sweetie. We'll get packed up tomorrow." She said as she pulled my face down to hers to give me a kiss on the cheek.

So tomorrow huh.. I thought to myself. Thats when the real fun starts.


	2. Your Ice Cream Is Melting

It only took a few days to pack, but the Japanese lesions took weeks. My parents got me a tutor as soon as our planes wheels hit the pavement it seemed. It was nice to have a house that would be "ours." Nothing special really, just a small house in a small neighborhood a short walk from my school. The first week or so of me being there were filled with confused looks and giggles from the other kids mocking me behind my back. It was tough, but there was always something that I looked forward too every Thursday after school.

"Cherry blossoms.. How cliche'." I muttered to myself from the steps of the high school. I left as quickly as I could to go sit outside and wait for my dad to pick me up. Ever sense we moved, it seemed like dad was always home before I was, or not far behind. Im not sure what he even does now that I think about it. A car horn derails my train of thought. "Hurry up nerd! Your icecream is going to melt!" I always got the same thing, Moosetracks covered in chocolate and caramel with little marshmallows sitting on top. My dad would always get the cones, with just plain vanilla.. he would always take too long and the icecream would melt, and run down his wrist and into his jacket sleeve causing for a usually funny reaction complete with a flick of the wrist or surprised yelp. These are the moments that made those first months worth while. I was still the new kid, and kept to myself.. I hadn't really gotten a complete grasp on the language yet, so I couldn't hold very deep conversations with any of my fellow students.

It was a total of three months of no social life and icecream with my father before i noticed some strange things going on.. Late at night I would often hear strange noises outside, followed by the occasional smell, or maybe an uneasy feeling.. But that night is when I actually saw something.

It was very late. The dull red light flashing from my alarm clock seemed blinding at three in the morning. I wasnt sure why I woke up, but I was wide awake, and felt nauseous, so i went to go open my window to get some fresh air. The dull ticking and ever so faint glow of the traffic lights illuminated the street and some of the sidewalk below my window. I heard it again. The rush of air, the clicking of shoes running down the road. I looked, but just like all the other times nothing caught my eye.. Until i turned away. It was a flicker, like one of those times when you thought you saw something out of the corner of your eye. It was hard to make out for the brief second i saw it.. but it looked like a shadow of a man. Wearing black, and holding something long, like some sort of weapon. I shook my head and looked again. Nothing was there. I just must be crazy i thought to myself as i walk back to my bed, uneasy feeling passed.

I sat in the middle of the living room floor, looking at that sword dad got a while ago. It was hanging on the wall in its same place sense we moved here.. But something wasnt quite right. I couldnt quite put my finger on it. Stepping up to take a closer look, I realized it was facing the other direction the night before. Two large hands on my shoulders followed by a shout snapped me out of my trance. Instinctively, I grabbed the wrists of the assailant, pulling his arms out in front of me and swung my head back as hard as i could, headbutting whoever it was. A second later, i was already turned around somehow, prepared to attack, only to see my father on the ground holding his nose. "AWFFFFFAAUG-" he said, blood rushing from his face. "HOLY CRAP, I'M SO SORRY HANG ON ILL GET A TOWEL!" I didn't mean to do it.. Lately my body has been drastically overreacting to little things, like being startled or things that were thrown at me. Made me pretty good at dodgeball though. My mom thinks im just a little on edge from being in a new location.

It took a few minutes to stop the bleeding. "Whyyy would you do that? I was just playing around!" Said my father, still holding his nose bridge in place and fighting tears. "It was an accident! you should know better than to scare me like that.. I was like, five inches away from a sword, Your'e lucky I didn't just kill you." I responded. That may have come out wrong.. but I was kind of embarrassed and felt really bad. "And this is how you repay me.." He said, a grin creeping across his face. "For what?.." I asked "Scaring me to death? yes. that's what you deserved." "No you jerk." He snapped, removing his hands from his face, and reaching underneath the table. "Its Thursday! I had to work late, but don't you ever think i forgot. Its our thing." And ice-cream cone and my usual mess of sugar. Just they way I liked it. We shared a laugh and ate all of it before my mom got home. She didn't like being left out so we had to dispose of the evidence. Things were finally turning around for me. I finally had a firm grasp on the language and wasn't getting made fun of as much. My father was almost always around and we were all happy.

Monday night, swamped in school work, same as always. I really gotta stop getting so behind.. next week, ill get on top of this i promised myself. My smug expression faded and my eyes widened. What is that? Why do I feel like this all of a sudden? A sudden surge of dread poured into my stomach and filled my veins with panic. I sat up in my bed and looked around quickly. Through the crack in my door, i saw something. Someone was looking at me. "Dad?.. What are you doing? Are you okay?" I asked as i set my feet on the floor. Heavy breathing was the only response he gave me. His tie was loose and his glasses were barely hanging on to his face. His eyes were wide as he stared at me from the darkness of the hallway. His mouth was wide open with a smile and his tongue was hanging out, breathing deeply like some sort of animal. He wasn't standing straight up, sort of hunched over.

"Dad are you sick?.. Do you need help?" I asked quietly as i began walking toward the door, arm extended to offer some sort of help, he looked like he was about to pass out or something. His eyes were wide open and seemed almost all white. Turning his head quickly to the left, toward my mothers room, his expression changed. He seemed alert, like he saw something. And without a warning, took off as fast as he could toward the front door. I ran to my door way to catch a glimse of him as he claw on the walls and counter tops toward the door to gain even the slight amount of speed. "Dad! What are you doing? Come back! You need a hospital!" A small dotted trail of blood followed his path. He must have cut himself of something on accident. He was very clearly not well. As I run to my room to grab my phone to follow him, I caught a glimpse of something again, just like before. A shadowed figure, moving quickly, in the same direction as my father.

It was very late at night, but the street lights on the side of the road illuminated my path. With my phone to my ear, I called my father repeatedly. He always had his phone on him and his distinct ringtone was easy to detect in the ungodly silence of the night. Not even the crickets were chirping. The wind seemed to have died. My breath was the only thing to break the silence. Bells and dings sounded to my left, my dads phone finally connected. I turned to see him, running along the road, screaming as he went. Turning around often to see what was behind him. It seemed like he was afraid of something. As he shouted nonsense though the darkness, i noticed something unsettling. The voice was not his own.

I followed his path and turned into an alleyway, I was running as fast as i could and wasnt paying attention to my surroundings.. A swift blow to the stomach flipped me to the ground. As I gasped for breath, gagging and trying to see what happened though the tears in my eyes, I saw my father standing above me. He was bent down, face first over me, mouth agape, with the same unintelligibly huge smile and wide, lifeless eyes. "Dad.. Please.." I stumbled to say. I tried to tell him to stop, that something was wrong and I would take him to the hospital. I wouldnt even tell mom, he was probably just stressed about work, and we could take a vacation or something. He shrieked and let out a most unusual laugh that was foreign to me.. Looking down to me again, he raised is arm, In it he held a knife. It was soaked in blood. I couldnt speak, what happened to him? Why is he doing this?.. Whos blood is that? His laughter was interrupted by a horrible sound and a long blade though his chest. A burst of blood and metal cut his laughter in its tracks. He look down.

turning over his shoulder, he looked at a man. How did i not notice him before? It seemed like he just appeared out of the darkness, a little bit at a time. Like a camera focusing. The man pulled the blade from his chest, causing my father to fall to the ground, sputtering blood. Still unable to speak or really breath, I tried my best to crawl over to him. His face was back to the way i remember it being. The large white eyes were replaced with his friendly blues hiding behind the broken lenses of his glasses. His mouth was closed, and broke into a smile when he saw me. But not the unnatural one from before, his own smile. Sort of a half smile creeping up the right side of his mouth. I looked up to the man with a sword, He stood just looking at me. No emotion veiled his face. Like a monster, he showed no remorse for his actions. He wore a traditional black cloak and old samurai shoes, the wooden flip flop things that click as you walk. I stared into his eyes, even though i couldn't speak, he knew exactly what I was trying to say. 

_You animal._

_Why did you do this to him._

_You're nothing but a monster._

He offered nothing but a raise of his eyebrow as he turned away from me. And as mysteriously as he appeared, he vanished.

I lay next to my father in that alleyway for hours before someone saw us. We rode in the same ambulance to the hospital, and i held his hand from my bed. He didn't squeeze my hand back when I grabbed repeatedly to see if he was alright. The doctor told my mother it was a mugging, and the would was so surgical in its accuracy, that my father died with little to no pain, as quickly as humanly possible. They wouldn't believe me when i told them what happened. There was no history of mental illness in my fathers family, and had no reason to act the way that he did.

It was a very large funeral. People I had never seen before came to offer their good wishes to me and my mother. Even people from my school came and sat with me, placing their hands on me for emotional support. a month passed as i walked to his grave to clean it off and sit with him for a while. I pulled my stool out from behind his tombstone and sat. "You didn't think id forget would you?" I asked him, "You know what day it is after all." I paced an object on the top of the cold stone. "Vanilla cone. Boring, same as always" I said with a light chuckle, quickly ended by a catch in my throat. I looked to the ground as tears filled my eyes.

"_Hurry up and eat it dad.. Your cone is melting again.._"


	3. Almost Therapeutic

"What are you thinking? This isn't a toy!" Shouted my mom, holding the sword my father got from japan. I had just gotten into a huge fight and came home angry and looking for something to cause as much pain as possible. Short of the kitchen knives, this over sized letter opener was my best bet. My she started freaking out, and I freaked out right back. I was very upset. After our in depth shouting match, she stomped off leaving me at the table staring down at the sword on the table next to my dad.

"You need to be smarter about this Dante." He said calmly. "This isn't something you can take back. Sure it might be out of style, but these were made to kill people. Its not like they could just go home afterwords. You would end up taking their lives. You need to promise me that you'll never take this out of its case to hurt people who don't deserve it." "He did deserve it dad." I said not looking up from the table. "You know what I mean. Just promise me you wont. For the sake of your mom." he added. "Fine.." I said, starting to feel kind of stupid about what i was thinking about doing over a stupid fight. "I promise." "Goodie" he said with a smile. "You can wake up now." I slowly looked up to him, confused, I didnt know what to say. "Be good." He said. And then I woke up.

The Shrill beeping of my alarm reminds me that its a school day again. I keep having dreams about him.. Even though its been a few months, its like hes still in my head. Its starting to get on my nerves. It gets me all depressed. As I walked out of my door, i heard my name.

_ "Dante.."_

I turned. Nobody was there.. I must still be half asleep, I hate it when that happens.. It makes me feel like im going crazy.

"Gimme your money." I hear from over my shoulder as something pokes me in the back. "Not today Gus" I say as I keep walking to my first class. I must have forgot to mention, I made a friend somehow. His name was Gus. Kind of a ratty looking guy, I don't think he ever shaved a day in his life or ever changed his pants. His dark scraggly beard peaked just above his adam's apple and his long hair was often kept in a ponytail. His jeans were always tight, ripped and covered with patches to cover up holes. Bit of a hippy look going on, with his tie-dye shirt and bandanna. "Oh come on man i was just messing, you always look so gloomy.. You need some excitement, C'mon" he said as he threw his arm over my shoulder. "Lets go get you a lady, Maybe two if you get your crap together." I kept walking. "No, I just want to get this over with and got back to bed." I responded in a monotone voice as i turned into my first class, leaving him standing in the hallway. "WHY ARE YOU SO AFRAID OF LOVE DANTE?!" He shouted at me. It seems like every sound in the world all agreed to stop so everybody could just look at him and wonder why he said that. He stood in the awkward silence as every eye rested on him. "N-No it wasn't. Im not. Its.." He couldn't find the words so he simply marched off to his class with his head down to avoid eye contact.

School had just ended and I left as quick as possible to avoid human interaction. It sure would be nice if i could get all the way there without having to talk to anybody.

"Sup nerd!"

Damn. So close.

"Hey Gus. Whats up." I said, trying to sound like i cared about what he was going to say. "Wanna come over and play Soul Calibur?" He asked with a disgusting amount of enthusiasm. "I just got the new one that lets you make customized characters" Jeez. He will not shut up. "And i made one that looks like our science teacher. Super hot right? But no, the best part is beating her nearly to death. Im telling you man, its therapeutic. What do ya say, Eh?" Thank the lord, hes finally done talking. "Sorry dude, I got a stupid writing assignment. We need to write a descriptive paper on a particular object." I said in response to his psychopathic request. "But maybe this weekend. Cya tomorrow" I said as I walked home. "Come ON its like you're allergic to fun!" He shouted in the distance.

Seeing as it was the only seemingly original object in my house, I chose to write on my dads sword. After a few hours of my mental roadblock, I decided to take it out to the park. Maybe a change of scenery would help get my creative juices to flow. The public park was just a few blocks from my house, and due to the recent unloading of technological advances in the last few years, it was left mostly uninhabited. The still landscape was rarely disturbed by an elderly couple or a jogger with a dog or something. I chose a large hill in the middle of the park to sit and try to work. As i sat on top of the hill, i told myself this would be easy. All im doing is literally writing about what this stupid thing looks like, Ill be home in twenty minutes.

A few hours later..

I was pushed almost to the point of tears as i sit on that stupid hill, softly hitting myself in the head with the sword repeatedly. I was startled as the lights turned on. The sun was just starting to set. Well that was stupid, I got literally nothing done. Letting out a big sigh, I started to stand up to collect my things and head home, but something made me feel uneasy. It was that same nervous, nauseous feeling i felt when my dad.. My thoughts disappeared as I heard something. It started off quiet, fading in and out, but after a few seconds, it became louder and more clear so I could start to understand it. It was talking.. To me?

_"Who is this? We dont recognize him do we? No, he must be new." _The voice was coming from the tree line at the bottom of the hill. "Who's there?!" I shouted "Come out where I can see you!" _"Where I can see you he says. Oh yes, hes new. Or stupid. Oh good one, you're so crafty sometimes" _ I was looking as hard as i could, but I still couldnt see anything.. Until a shadow slowly appeared from the base of the hill. Shapeless, and difficult to see.. I couldn't tell if i was dreaming or not. _"we must ask, What is a little soul reaper like you doing so far from home, and without any pesky little friends hmm? Yes that is a good question, thank you."_ Then suddenly, all at once, the shadow gained its shape. It was dark, so it was still hard to tell what i was looking at.. It had the body of a man, two arms, two legs.. But it was large, and looked like it was made out of some sort of white clay.. And he had a large mask covering his face. But as i watched in horror, the mask moved with the words it was saying. _"I believe we asked a question didnt we? Yes we did. But we didnt get an answer did we? No. No we didnt. Boy, little soul reaper is so rude." _There was nothing else near it, it seemed to be talking to itself. I finally snapped out of it to answer its question.. Sort of. "Soul reaper? what is that? Who are you?" _"Ignorant. STUPID. He has a Zanpakuto. He obviously is playing us for fools. WE KNOW. Calm down." _It seemed to be angry one moment and then calm the next.. I had no idea what was happening. "A Zanpakuto? What is that? Just let me go home, you dont know me." I said as i started to back away.

_"LIAR!"_ It shrieked. Instinctively, I blinked because it shouted so loudly, and as my eyes opened after that split second, it was gone. "What in the hell.." I said to myself as i tried to relax, sweat dripping down the side of my head. _"Hell. Interesting choice of words"_ I heard from mere inches behind me. I jumped and quickly turned around trying to create as much distance as possible. I was holding the sword and held it in a baseball stance. "What do you want?! Im not who you think i am! just leave me alone!" I shouted at the creature. It was much closer now so i could get a good look at it. It had an all white body, with the exception of red designs along its legs, chest and arms leading up its neck. It was very large, around ten feet tall. It let out a quick laugh and stopped almost immediately. _"What do we want? Well lets see.. We would like that Zanpakuto, a gallon of grape soda. Shut up. Your soul, and maybe your blood in a thermos for later. Good idea. Thank you_" It keeps using words i dont know.. Zanpakuto? Soul reaper? Its obviously crazy. "I dont know what that is! Do you mean this sword?" I asked as i reached it toward the thing. "Take it! It doesnt even come out!" The creature stood up straight and placed its hand under its chin in thought. _"A soul reaper offers us his zanpakuto willingly. Hes a tricky one. DONT TRUST HIM. It has to be a trap right? KILL HIM NOW! but what about our soda?" _The thing kept arguing with itself, changing its stance with every sentence, it seemed like two minds in one massive, demented body.

It seemed distracted enough, now was probably my best chance. As it was yelling at itself, I made the decision to run. I turned around and ran as fast as i could for the trees. It took a second for it to realize I took off, but when it did, it shrieked again, and began to chase me. I turned to see it running on all fours, screaming as it clawed on the ground towards me. I was close to the woods, i never ran so fast in my life. I turned again to see where it was, only to be met with a large field of grass. It disappeared again. As i ran, i tried to piece together what happened, only to be close-lined by something. Something hit me in the chest so hard, it made me to a backflip, legs continuing with the speed at which i ran. Upside down, air out of my lungs, i caught a glimpse of the creature again. How did it get ahead of me? What is happening? I landed with a thump on the cold damp grass with a cough. _"Why is he so slow? Its not even fun. Might as well just get this over with i guess. We were hoping for a bit more of a fight, but hey, we were getting sick of fast food weren't we. So sick of it. Doesn't agree with our tummy."_

Boy. This sword is worthless, if it would just come out of this stupid case. Then it hit me, I had something to defend myself with. True it didnt come out, but if i swung it right, i could use it like a club. Filled with my new found sense of power, My breath collected back into my lungs. Then as quickly as i could, and with as little warning as possible, I swung the sword in its locked case as hard as i could, clipping the thing in the side of its face, breaking off a piece of its clay mask. I must have surprised it, because it screamed with fear and pain as it covered its face with its large hands. This was my best chance again probably. I quickly got to my feet and swung as hard as i could at its right leg, with a satisfying crack, its leg caved in sideways causing it to fall to the ground. Screaming even louder than before, I was surprised that nobody heard or came to help me. Without warning, the scream stopped, letting the silence to surround me and fill me with uneasiness once again. Turing its face quickly to face me, It swung with its large hands at my head, it was fast, but somehow, my body reacted on its own and bent over backwards to dodge its attack, it was as if my body was acting on its own. But i forgot about its other arm which swung behind me, taking out my legs from behind leaving me to fall on my back. Its right arm, following the swing, followed me to the ground and pushed me down faster pushing me right on the the ground, pressing on me with all its weight as it picked itself up.

_"That was very uncool. Is cool the right word? Yes, we're hip, we know the cool words. It doesnt sound right. KILL HIM. wait what about this cool dilemma? WE'LL TALK LATER." _Looking away with a nod, it turned its attention to me again. With all its weight on its massive hands, it completely enveloped me and kept my whole body crushed on the ground, with the exception of my arm with the stupid, worthless sword. Opening its mouth, drool poured over my face, it was hard to see, but i could tell it was leaning toward my head with its wide open mouth. I didnt know what to do, i was scared, so i closed my eyes and accepted my fate.. Until i heard my name again. Just like before when i left for school. But this time it sounded angry.. Or like it was disappointed in me.

"Dante! What a sad excuse for a man you are. Fight back!"

Okay voice in my head, Ill do whatever you say. I lost my mind. Thats whats going on here. I opened my eyes again to a facefull of wide open mouth above my head, with one difference.. My arm was forward and my sword was wedged in its mouth keeping it from closing or coming any closer. Gargled shouts of anger leapt from the creatures mouth, I couldnt understand it, but it sounded angry. Revealing some of the pressure off my chest, it reached up to move my arm away from its mouth. It got off just enough for me to roll over and get up in one quick motion, i pulled the sword as had as i could, breaking out some teeth on its way out, the creature covered its face with both hands again and began to fall backwards. Woah, thats weird, my body is doing its own thing again. I jumped forward, sword sideways catching the creatures neck and with all my might, i pushed it toward the ground. A crunching was my signal that i crushed its throat on the ground. Also the fact that it stopped making noise helped clarify that thought.

I felt crazy. Filled with fear and adrenaline, i began swinging at the creatures head. Over and over. Pieces of its clay face breaking away with every swing. I couldn't stop, if i did, it would just come at me again. it was a monster, some sort of fairy tale creature, im not actually killing anything. Its arms began to stop flailing as well as its legs and i could almost feel the life leaving its body. After it stopped moving, i swung a few more times, breaking the last pieces of its mask away. As i stepped away, trying to catch my breath, its whole body turned to black, like a shadow and then slowly, piece by piece, it vanished. I stood breathing heavily until i dropped the sword and fell to my knees. Looking up at the moon which was now full in the sky, i tried to piece together the events of that night. What was that? Whats a Zanpakuto? What a soul reaper?.. What the hell WAS that?

"Sounds like you got a few questions." I heard a voice say from behind me. I quickly grabbed the sword and spun around quickly, ready to attack my attacker once again. A man stood under a street light. "I can help you with that." He said, his black hair slicked back, hands in his pockets and small silver necklace reflected the street lamp. His presence seemed calming.. Not like the creature. So I lowered my weapon.

"Names Ginjo. Lets talk."


End file.
